**: Accumulating Virtue by Stealing Treasure**

This was truly rare!

Sun Lingtong, determined that a thief should never leave empty-handed, had devoured countless books, secretly controlled black markets, and combined theory with practice. His vision was broad; even materials from the underworld were mostly familiar to him.

But the precious materials here were all outside his knowledge, completely unknown to him.

Zeng Jide noticed Sun Lingtong's confusion and eager desire. He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled leisurely over to the shelves. "This treasury can be considered the essence of the River of Forgetfulness Immortal City."

"The River of Forgetfulness is the most famous long river in the underworld. When souls fall into it, they gradually lose their memories and emotions. Discarding these memories and emotions, the soul becomes lighter and lighter, as if shedding a heavy burden, until it's light enough to float to the surface and finally reach the shore."

"Once ashore, these souls remember nothing, like newborn babes, ignorant and curious about everything."

"So, some also call the River of Forgetfulness the River of Cleansing Sins or the River of Rebirth."

After this introduction, Zeng Jide brought the topic back. "These precious materials all originate from the River of Forgetfulness; they are local specialties, rarely seen elsewhere."

"So, it's normal you don't recognize them."

"For example, this is called 'Lotus Root Entwined with Sorrowful Threads'."

Sun Lingtong looked and saw a pile of lotus root sections, each about half a foot long, uniformly gray and withered-looking. The surface of the roots was缠绕着许多半透明、灰白色的丝线缠绕 with many semi-transparent, gray-white threads.

Looking closer, he found these threads wriggling on their own, intertwining, emitting a sorrowful aura that made one's chest feel tight and brought tears to the eyes.

Zeng Jide pointed elsewhere. "This is 'Wrathful Fire Glaze'. Similar to the Sorrow-Threaded Lotus Root, it's formed at the bottom of the River of Forgetfulness by the accumulation and condensation of countless angry, resentful thoughts."

Sun Lingtong took a few steps and saw the material Zeng Jide indicated, immediately feeling as if his eyes were pricked.

It was an irregularly shaped crystal the size of a fist, blood-red throughout, with what seemed like raging flames burning and leaping inside. It emitted faint crackling sounds while radiating a狂暴的、想要砸碎一切的愤怒意念狂暴, intent to smash everything to pieces.

Next, Zeng Jide introduced 'Fear-Soul Cold Crystal', 'Resentment-Poison Miasma Flower', and 'Obsession Iron'.

Fear-Soul Cold Crystal was an ice-blue prismatic crystal, emanating a chilling cold that induced panic and fear.

The petals of the Resentment-Poison Miasma Flower were漆黑如墨漆黑如墨, layer upon layer, while the stamens were a bewitching紫红色紫红色.

Obsession Iron looked utterly ordinary, just heavy, pitch-black iron lumps. Placed before Sun Lingtong, they'd be mistaken for common iron. But in fact, these lumps were extremely heavy, a core material for forging top-tier defensive magical treasures.

Zeng Jide stopped before a particular shelf, a gleam of sharp light flashing in his eyes.

He said in a surprised tone, "Oh? They actually have 'Innocence's Tear Gold' here."

It was gold like liquid, held in a bowl. Pure and unblemished, it radiated an极致极致 warmth, attachment, and hope, like the newborn morning sun.

"These are the purest, most sincere tears shed by the most pristine and flawless souls."

"Normally, such souls are rare. But the River of Forgetfulness can completely cleanse a soul, making it like new, greatly increasing the probability."

Sun Lingtong's horizons were broadened.

Finally, Zeng Jide stopped at the innermost shelf, his gaze fixed as he said, "Found it."

"This is my target for this heist—the 'River of Forgetfulness Whirlpool Eye'."

"Whirlpool Eye?" Sun Lingtong knew of this.

Any flowing substance, forming a whirlpool over time, might develop an 'eye' at the center. This was the Whirlpool Eye.

Zeng Jide said, "It's the Whirlpool Eye you know, but these are different; they are ones formed within the River of Forgetfulness."

"You must understand, the River of Forgetfulness contains the Dao of Forgetting, capable of stripping away emotions and memories. Every drop of River of Forgetfulness water has this effect and can be considered a precious material—this is no small matter."

"The previous rows of shelves held items formed by the accumulation of countless emotions. But the River of Forgetfulness Whirlpool Eye is nurtured and formed by the river itself; that's a different level altogether."

"The River of Forgetfulness is a great river of treasure materials. Treasures born within treasures, their principles numerous and dense, harmoniously integrated, are often natural magical instruments!"

Sun Lingtong couldn't help but let his eyes shine.

He had long heard of natural magical instruments, but only in texts or legends from others. Now, he was finally seeing the real thing.

Zeng Jide stood before the Whirlpool Eyes and performed a series of hand seals.

With each movement of his fingertips, the light membrane covering the compartment rippled with extremely subtle waves.

One mysterious talisman after another appeared, then silently dimmed, as if the "lock core" had been picked by the most precise tool.

After ten breaths, a gap was opened in the light membrane. The talismans at the edges twisted, constantly flickering in and out of existence, yet never triggering any alarm.

Zeng Jide reached in and effortlessly took hold of several Whirlpool Eyes, bringing them out.

Zeng Jide examined them closely and found only one, of the best quality, had become a natural magical instrument.

The others still fell short of that level.

Zeng Jide looked at the Whirlpool Eye on his fingertip. "With this, the purpose of my trip is achieved."

Sun Lingtong: "Ah? Senior, you came all the way to the River of Forgetfulness Immortal City, braving great danger, just to steal this?"

Zeng Jide nodded, then shook his head. "Whenever I commit a theft, I always openly send a notice, stating clearly that I will be coming to a certain place soon to steal a specific item."

"This time is no exception."

"In my notice to the River of Forgetfulness Mansion Lord, I explicitly stated I would steal the River of Forgetfulness Whirlpool Eyes."

Hearing this, Sun Lingtong's pupils dilated in great surprise. "Your... theft style is truly unique!"

Zeng Jide chuckled. "I feel like you're looking at me as if I'm a fool."

Sun Lingtong put his hands behind his head. "Hehe, I couldn't do such a foolish thing. Why make things so difficult and gain nothing? If I'm stealing, I'd be careful, trying my best to leave no trace."

Zeng Jide, hearing his actions described as foolish, found Sun Lingtong more to his taste instead. "Brat, quite blunt, aren't you?"

"Heh, I might as well tell you, I've been specializing in such 'foolish' deeds for many times now."

"Every success boosts my theft arts by a large margin! If the benefits weren't sufficient, do you think I'd do such ostentatious things?"

Sun Lingtong widened his eyes again. This was the first time he'd heard of such a cultivation method. He said incredulously, "Theft arts are a type of magic. Besides increasing one's realm, it's about diligent practice. There are other shortcuts?"

"There are, kid," Zeng Jide said. "I've read Buddhist texts and also practice Buddhist techniques, enabling me to make vows, fulfill them, and then 'repay' them."

"Each time I send a notice, I am making a vow."

"Successfully stealing is fulfilling the vow."

"Finally, during the 'repayment', any technique I used during the theft will improve rapidly!"

"This cultivation efficiency far surpasses bitter practice."

Sun Lingtong felt his knowledge expanding greatly. "Buddhist cultivation has this aspect?"

Zeng Jide stroked his beard, smiling as he instructed, "The hundred arts, thousand schools, ten thousand methods of cultivation are essentially all ways to practice. If it's useful to you, then use it."

"Who cares if it's Buddhist or Demonic?"

"Cultivators should be all-embracing, flexible, turning everything to their own use. They must never be rigid."

Sun Lingtong nodded repeatedly, taking these words to heart.

Having taken all the Whirlpool Eyes and achieved his goal, Zeng Jide didn't leave immediately.

"Since we're here, Senior, why not take a bit more?" Sun Lingtong suggested.

Zeng Jide nodded, speaking with feigned seriousness. "Correct, these all have a connection with me. In our Buddhist practice, we emphasize vows, but also connections."

Zeng Jide proceeded to sweep the precious materials from the shelves into his possession.

"Eh? There's a secret room here!" Zeng Jide made an unexpected discovery.

He employed several theft techniques in succession before finally opening the secret room's door.

The room wasn't large, containing only three types of materials: 'Unfounded Truth Dew', 'Seven Emotions Ash Jade', and 'Void-Knowledge Moon Soul'.

There was only one drop of Unfounded Truth Dew.

It hovered in the center of a jade vial. The dew drop was清澈透明清澈透明, seemingly non-existent yet undoubtedly present.

It radiated a purity so极致极致, a transcendent aura of "nothingness", as if capable of cleansing all delusions and dust.

Zeng Jide looked at it with a complex expression and explained, "On extremely rare occasions, the River of Forgetfulness forms an 'Unfounded Dao Field'. The Unfounded Truth Dew is the sole treasure left behind after such a Dao Field naturally extinguishes."

"It can purify inner demons, shatter illusions, stabilize the Dao Heart. It's a holy item for cultivating top-tier righteous path techniques and transcending inner demon tribulations. A single drop is enough to drive major cultivators from both righteous and demonic paths into a frenzy of争夺争夺!"

There were seven pieces of Seven Emotions Ash Jade, each a different color, resembling glazed jade. They were naturally stacked together, forming a small七彩七彩 mountain.

"Seven Emotions Ash Jade!" Zeng Jide took a deep breath. "Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, desire—the seven fundamental emotions accumulated to their extreme, condensing into jade under special conditions! Each piece contains the本源之力本源之力 of an ultimate emotion! It's the supreme holy item for cultivating Seven Emotions Demonic Arts, and also a core material for top-tier illusion arrays, emotional attack, or defensive magical treasures. Legend says gathering all seven can invoke the本源本源 of the seven emotions, with endless wondrous uses and power!"

"This is something the River of Forgetfulness, over who knows how long, has 'washed' and 'precipitated' from countless sinking souls—an item of utmost emotion and nature."

Sun Lingtong immediately understood.

Many of the previous materials were also products of emotional accumulation, like the Sorrow-Threaded Lotus Root, Wrathful Fire Glaze, Fear-Soul Cold Crystal, Resentment-Poison Miasma Flower, Obsession Iron, etc.

The Seven Emotions Ash Jade must be the pinnacle of such materials!

The Void-Knowledge Moon Soul resembled a crescent moon sealed within eternal ice.

The crescent moon showed a strange blue semi-transparency, emitting a peculiar波动波动 that seemed to trace the past and reflect previous lives.

"The Buddha said all is emptiness."

"This is the 'Void'本源本源 condensed within the River of Forgetfulness, containing the true meaning of 'Emptiness and Silence'. It's a supreme treasure for cultivating top-tier emotionless path techniques like 'Supreme Forgetfulness' or 'Nirvana Heart Method', and also a rare auxiliary item for crafting spatial treasures or comprehending spatial laws. However, direct contact carries the great danger of losing oneself or dissolving into the Dao."

"Rumor has it that Yun Xiao used this very thing, burning himself up, to create the Void-Returning Raft."

"Reportedly, the Void-Knowledge Moon Soul he used was as large as a small hill, astonishingly huge. It was probably the largest accumulation of such material in the River of Forgetfulness!"

Sun Lingtong felt a stir in his heart. "That's quite a coincidence, then. Just when Yun Xiao wanted to save his Dao companion, he encountered the Void-Knowledge Moon魄魄, perfectly meeting the conditions for his achievement."

Zeng Jide nodded slightly. "Therefore, there's another layer to the story of Yun Xiao."

"It's said that the Netherworld's Heaven was unwilling to see the River of Forgetfulness become a forbidden zone and wanted to create a means of crossing it for the underworld's beings."

"Thus, through the evolution of fate, it arranged for the cultivators Yun Xiao and Yue Yi. Ultimately, Yun Xiao sacrificed himself, resulting in the creation of many Emotionless Ferries and Void-Returning Rafts."

"This is the theory of Fate and Fortune."

Sun Lingtong fell silent, but inwardly thought: *My own arrival at the River of Forgetfulness Immortal City, encountering Zeng Jide and receiving his help, is probably also a result of the evolution of Fate and Fortune.*

He asked Zeng Jide, "Old Zeng, I'm extremely interested in Fate and Fortune!"

"Do you know how? Can you teach me?"

"I have a good idea: I want to also cultivate Fate and Fortune methods, then integrate them and create new theft arts."

"With new theft arts, I could directly steal Fate and Fortune. By then, I might find treasures just by walking a few steps, enemies might kill each other, and everything would go smoothly for me—smooth sailing, smooth wealth! Life would be too wonderful."

"Hahaha." Zeng Jide was amused, laughing heartily three times.

He pointed a finger towards Sun Lingtong's forehead from a distance. "You're thinking too beautifully, kid."

"I don't have any methods related to divination or Fate and Fortune."

"Even the mighty River of Forgetfulness Mansion Lord, ruler of this land, doesn't have them. If he wants a divination, he has to seek help from the Gray Bone Elder."

"This involves a secret!"

Sun Lingtong pressed, "What secret?"

Zeng Jide said, "To obtain methods of Fate, Fortune, or Divination, you can't force it; it depends on顺应天命顺应天命—following the will of Heaven!"

"Only if Heaven wants you to have them will such arrangements be made."

"Otherwise, the stronger the existence—be it a person or a faction—the less likely they are to obtain such methods."

"This is because learning such methods easily leads to becoming an 'incurable disease' within the world, difficult to eliminate, threatening the natural cycle of birth, old age, sickness, and death."

Sun Lingtong frowned. "Looked at from this angle, doesn't that mean the stronger one is, the less likely they are to obtain methods of Fate, Fortune, and Divination?"

Zeng Jide nodded. "Yes."

"And 'the strong' here also refers to those like you with great potential. Even if you're weak now, as long as you grow, you will surely become strong."

"So, your desire to seek out Fate, Fortune, and Divination methods is almost impossible."

At this point, Zeng Jide sighed. "Sigh, I've tried already. If I had divination methods, combined with my vow-making technique, I could calculate the chances of success and hidden risks before sending each notice."

"Then my cultivation speed would undergo a qualitative change, and becoming a theft sage remembered throughout history would be within reach."

"Therefore, those cultivators who do obtain Fate, Fortune, or Divination methods often don't have strong Fate themselves, or face frequent calamities, often suffering from the 'Three Deficiencies and Five Flaws'."

"From what I know, divination cultivators also highly value their own Fate, always maintaining it within an upper and lower limit. There's a lot of nuance to it."

(End of )